Regional water agency Northern Water and nonprofit organization Save the Poudre have reached a settlement over a federal permit dispute regarding the provider’s Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP).

The settlement, announced Friday evening, brings a 20-year-long conflict to an end in exchange for a $100 million preservation fund that would support conservation projects along the length of the Poudre River and the surrounding area.

“This is a milestone day for the communities participating in the project,” Northern Water General Manager Brad Wind said in a release shortly after the settlement was signed by the organization’s Board of Directors. “The settlement agreement will close the permitting process for the project, open the door to constructing a project that will deliver much-needed water supplies to vibrant communities, and allow for dozens of large-scale riverine investments in and along the Poudre River.”

The fund, which will be paid out over a period of 15 years, will support ecological, habitat, and recreational improvements along the river, according to a release from Save the Poudre.

A fund committee that will determine which conservation projects are selected will be created, with three seats chosen by Save teh Poudre and three by Northern Water.

“For 20 years, we have brought attention to the plight of the Poudre River and the impacts on the river that would be caused by NISP,” Save the Poudre Executive Director Gary Wockner said in the release. “We are pleased to have reached this agreement and we look forward to putting the Improvement Fund to work for the health of the river and all of the people who love and enjoy the river in Northern Colorado.”The dispute centered around a Section 404 Clean Water Act permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The permit, issued in January 2023, cleared the way for NISP to proceed with its plan to build water infrastructure to support growing communities across the Front Range, totaling 13 billion gallons of water each year, according to promotional materials from NISP.

The project will serve 15 communities and districts, including Fort Collins-Loveland Water District, Erie, Fort Morgan, Left Hand Water District, Central Weld County Water District, Windsor, Frederick, Lafayette, Morgan County Quality Water District, Firestone, Dacono, Evans, Fort Lupton, Severance and Eaton.

NISP, a $2 billion effort, involves the construction of 50 miles of buried pipelines, the construction of two new reservoirs, Glade and Galeton, and a diversion of U.S. Highway 287, among other construction projects, according to Northern Water. The project also will entail an improved diversion on the Poudre River to allow fish passage and the requirement that 30% of the project’s water will be conveyed downstream to benefit the Poudre River, according to Northern Water.

Construction on elements of the project that were halted by the permit dispute are expected to begin in 2026, and reach completion by 2030 or 2031, according to Northern Water spokesperson Jeff Stahla, with the exception of one, Galeton Reservoir, which will be built later, and for which Northern Water does not currently have an estimated time of completion.

Stahla added that the project would likely be completed in the 2030s.

Save the Poudre was suing the Army Corps of Engineers over the permit, and withdrew its suit after reaching the settlement Friday.

“The Poudre River is smack in the middle of one of the fastest growing areas of the U.S., and it will take hard work, creativity, and a lot of money to keep the Poudre alive,” Wockner said. “This $100 million is a strong step in the right direction, and we encourage other stakeholders and the philanthropic community to help us leverage this money for even bigger improvements to ensure that Fort Collins and northern Colorado will continue to have a river running through it.”